Lunula
Lough Gill Brewing Company

 

The head collapsed from 1” quickly falls to a blanket, then vanishing within five minutes. Jet Black, with dark coal highlights in a Swiftwater Snifter. It leaves a film after each sip, forming legs but no lacing. There is some dark amber sediment at the bottom of the glass, that kind of looks like gold dust.

Whiskey is mild, as is the coffee. Roasted malt and coffee mix with milk chocolate. Warmth brings out light peat, tobacco, and alcohol fumes.

The opening is mild Bailey’s Irish Cream, due to the whiskey and coffee. Charred malt and baker’s chocolate follow, with plumb pudding late. Bitterness is well controlled by light sweetness. The finish is mild and lingering, with a light booziness, dark chocolate, and finally the promised hazelnut.

A full body and soft cushion of creamy texture. ABV is about as expected, with mild heat and light numbing of the gums. Carbonation has a soft prickly sensation, and residual sugar builds on the lips.

This will be an excellent sipping beer, while reading by a fire on a cold Winter evening. I’ll have to test that hypothesis next month. The things I do! Right now it is going down well as a pre-dinner warm-up, with a lazy dog on my lap.

Poured at fridge temp from a can. Pours black with about an inch of light brown head. The beer itself, as it was being poured, didn't seem as black as many big imperial stouts. I guess it looks a bit thin. Hazelnuts immediately becomes apparent on the first sniff. Chocolate, coffee, a bit of tobacco, milk, and some oak.

The taste is really nice and vibrant. Big roasted malts come through right away. This is a spicy and malty beer. Peppery spice. Oak, hazelnuts, tar, leather, an earthy note, coffee grinds, pipe tobacco, and some burnt toffee. Really flavorful. The barrel is there, but not overly dominant at all. More of a background note. I like that about this one. I have no idea how long it was aged in the barrels, but my guess is not overly long.

The mouthfeel is pretty thick and creamy. A wonderful mix of sweet and roasty bitterness on the aftertaste. Long finish on this one. The ABV is not really detectable at all. Overall, a lovely beer that I would definitely buy again.

A: The beer is jet black in color. It poured with a short light tan head that left a collar consisting of medium-sized bubbles around the edge of the glass.
S: Light to moderate aromas of whiskey are present in the nose.
T: The taste follows the smell and has additional hints of underlying chocolate. The flavors of whiskey linger into the finish.
M: It feels medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer is a lot lighter in body compared to what I would have expected for a beer of this strength and also doesn't have the smooth mouthfeel that you would normally expect from an oatmeal stout. However, it was exceptionally drinkable considering its strength and had no traces whatsoever in the taste.

Serving type: can

 

Poured cool to a Glencairn glass. Dark chestnut color. Fluffy almond head. Nose is mellow, but you sense the Irish Whiskey and some light chocolate. Flavor is sublime. It’s a balance between no-frills and a little playful with the chocolate and hazelnut. All flavors are harmonious. Mouthfeel is medium, which might be nicer a little heavier, but by the end I didn’t really notice. Although 13% ABV, the alcohol is a beast, but it drinks so extraordinarily smoothly that you don’t notice anything other than the flavors.

As the remainder of the cold got colder in the fridge, the second glassful was perhaps even more enjoyable. The Boann whiskey, chocolate, and hazelnut flavors unexpectedly pulled up front more when colder. Buy it if you see it.